by Kent Covington Posted 8/16/18, 10:44 am

President Donald Trump is revoking the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan, the White House said Wednesday. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders added that the president is also reviewing the security clearances of other Obama administration intelligence officials such as former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former national security adviser Susan Rice. Some Democrats criticized Trump, saying he was targeting his political enemies, but Sanders said the president was fulfilling his responsibility to protect classified information.

by Kent Covington Posted 8/15/18, 01:36 pm

State lawmakers in West Virginia voted this week to impeach all four remaining state Supreme Court justices. The justices were embroiled in a spending controversy, and one of them, Allen Loughry, faced a 23-count federal indictment. The articles of impeachment said Loughry, Beth Walker, Margaret Workman, and Robin Davis failed to control expenses, including more than $1 million in renovations to their individual offices. Republican Gov. Jim Justice will appoint new justices to replace any who are convicted.

by Kent Covington Posted 8/14/18, 11:48 am

President Donald Trump signed a $716 billion dollar defense bill Monday to fund the military through 2019. The act, signed into law at a ceremony in Fort Drum, N.Y., boosts military pay by 2.6 percent, the largest hike in nine years. It also provides nearly $8 billion dollars for 77 new F-35 fighter jets while barring delivery of the planes to Turkey.

Kent Covington | 8/13/18, 01:06 pm

A New York congressman charged with insider trading has ended his reelection bid. Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., announced the decision Saturday just hours after once again declaring his innocence. Authorities arrested and charged Collins last week. Prosecutors say he passed inside information about a biotech company to family members. Collins initially planned to try to stay in Congress but said in a statement he reversed course because it was in the best interest of his district and the Republican Party. Upstate New York’s 27th District first elected him in 2012.

Kent Covington | 8/13/18, 11:52 am

Demonstrators turned out in the nation’s capital on Sunday to mark the one-year anniversary of a deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. Patrol cars escorted a group of about 30 white supremacists from a Metro station to a park near the White House as thousands of counterprotesters chanted and spoke against the group. Jason Kessler, who organized the Charlottesville rally, also led the Washington, D.C., event.

Kent Covington | 8/07/18, 10:40 am

The government’s star witness in the financial fraud trial of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort testified Monday that he and Manafort committed crimes together. Rick Gates told jurors he embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars from Manafort by filing false expense reports. But he also said he concealed millions of dollars in foreign bank accounts on Manafort’s behalf. Gates already pleaded guilty to multiple crimes and is awaiting sentencing. The trial is the first resulting from special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S.

Kent Covington | 8/06/18, 11:26 am

The Trump administration now has 17 days to appeal a Friday U.S. District Court ruling that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) must resume. The Obama-era program shields young immigrants brought into the country illegally from deportation. U.S. District Judge John D. Bates reaffirmed his earlier ruling that the administration must allow renewal requests and once again accept new applications for DACA. President Donald Trump ended DACA in September of last year, but the government continues to process renewal requests under orders from a federal court.

Kent Covington | 8/03/18, 11:10 am

U.S. national security officials held a rare joint news conference Thursday during the daily White House press briefing to highlight their agencies’ efforts to protect U.S. political campaigns and elections from outside interference.

Kent Covington | 8/02/18, 11:22 am

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s executive order that threatened to cut off federal funds to sanctuary cities is unconstitutional. The president’s order was in response to cities and states that don’t work with U.S. immigration authorities in enforcing the administration’s push to crack down on illegal immigration. In the 2-to-1 ruling, the court said the White House cannot withhold appropriated funds without approval from Congress.

Kent Covington | 8/01/18, 10:46 am

A federal judge Tuesday blocked a scheduled Wednesday release of instructions for do-it-yourself plastic firearms. After a yearslong court battle, the State Department in late June settled a case against Defense Distributed, which sought to publish online instructions on how to make a gun using a 3D printer. The State Department said it initially took the Austin, Texas–based company to court because it wanted to prevent the wrong people from making firearms overseas.